By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

Auction
The Asian Cultural Council Philippines Art Auction 2016
Feb. 20, 2:00 p.m.
G/F Eurovilla 1, Rufino cor. Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City

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WHO WOULD LIKE to bid on authentic Jose Rizal’s gas bill, or his only known student identification card in sculpture class? How about a 1952 work by Arturo Luz? Or, fancy something by Annie Kabigting or Elmer Borlongan?

Prepare for an exciting art war on Feb. 20 at 2:00 p.m., as Leon Gallery and Asian Cultural Council Philippines (ACC) hold a benefit auction for ACC Philippines Foundation (ACCPF) artist-scholars. The auction will be at Leon Gallery, Rufino cor. Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.

ACC is a nonprofit organization that has supported the US-Asia art exchange since 1963 by giving grants to individuals and organizations that represent the various art disciplines, including visual art, theater, music, new media, film, photography, architecture, archaeology, and dance.

National Artists like Jose Joya, Lamberto Avellana, Alice Reyes, Francisco Feliciano, and Jose Maceda were ACC grantees.

The ACCPF has been a partner of ACC since 2000 and has produced a number of Filipino art scholars. One of them is visual artist and 2011 fellow Ambie Abaño, who mentioned at the Jan. 28 press conference that, besides the overwhelming opportunities and experience, her New York residency has “made me realize where I stand as a Filipino artist.”

The ACC has offices in New York, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. It chooses four to six applicants per country (the number depends on the funding) and offers residency in the United States and Asia for research, study, and creative work.

“We have to come up with as many fund-raising projects in a year to support the ACC Philippine Fellowship Program. We need approximately US$30,000 to US$50,000 per member to aid their residency,” said ACC Board Member Malou Gamboa.

Art auctions like the upcoming one with Leon Gallery are just one of their many fund-raising projects. Past auction partners include Finale Art File and Salcedo Auctions, among others.

An art enthusiast and collector herself, Ms. Gamboa said the community of art fans in the Philippines is in for exciting times because “investing in Filipino art is valuable, because it has story and depth,” she said.

200 UP FOR GRABS
There are 200 works to be auctioned, 34 of which come from the ACC; the rest are from Leon Gallery.

Among the pieces to keep an eye out for are those by National Artists Ben Cabrera and Arturo Luz, and those by Roberto Chabet, Manny Garibay, Cesar Legaspi, Sam Penaso, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho, among other art bigwigs.

“But besides the paintings and sculptures, there are furniture pieces, religious artifacts, ephemera, and manuscripts,” said Leon Gallery director Jaime Ponce de Leon.

According to Mr. Ponce de Leon, also such items include the aforementioned national hero’s Honk Kong gas bill, the only known copy of Dr. Rizal’s unfinished novel Makamisa, and a book dedicated to General Antonio Luna, which were all verified by historian and academic Ambeth Ocampo.

“Every Amorsolo we have is verified and authenticated by Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo, every Fernando Zobel we have [is verified] by Rafael Perez-Mariano, [and] every Aguilar Alcuaz we have [is authenticated] by Christian Aguilar,” Mr. Ponce de Leon noted.

“That’s it. For other works, that’s provenance. We are very strict on provenance, and probably we’ve earned good reputation on our strictness and acceptance of works for auction,” he told BusinessWorld.

For details logon on to www.leon-gallery.com, or call +632 856 2781

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